Alleged thief comes back for seconds

FOREST HILLS—Jamal Smith, 23, was arrested on March 17 for allegedly breaking into the Best Buy vending machine in the Forest Hills MBTA station. Transit police officers caught Smith after chasing him on foot through streets and yards near the station.

Smith was pointed out to police at the station when, after allegedly breaking the machine’s glass face and filling a bag with the machine’s contents, he returned to the machine without the bag.

According to a police report, once Smith saw the police officers, he fled on foot toward South Street, eventually hiding in an empty lot adjacent to 234 South St., where he was apprehended.

A small shard of glass was found in the pocket of Smith’s pants, which seems to match the glass recovered from the machine, the report states.

A person matching Smith’s description was seen to break the machine’s glass front on the surveillance tape, the police report says.